What's so dumb about world-ending Mayan prophesy or rapture-date prediction?

There's no future in it.

That's a joke, of course, but also true. Such charlatans that spread their ignorance like a cultural stain may be able to bilk the gullible for the short term, but they always end disgraced in the long term; hence there's no real future in their future.

8. They didn't?

2. disgraced in the long term

Not all that long,in my opinion........I'd wager that,if 6 months down the road,the same crowd that pushed the 12-21 doomsday,now shift to another near future date,the same folks who bought into THIS will buy into that....Leading to....OH NOES!!!!...Disgraced...Discredited....Rinse...Lather...Repeat....